1Ki 20:30-42 | ESV | STEP | And the rest fled into the city of Aphek , and the wall fell upon 27,000 men who were left . Ben-hadad also fled and entered an inner chamber in the city .

a[See ver. 26 above]

b ch. 22:25; 2 Kgs. 9:2; 2 Chr. 18:24

cSee 2 Sam. 3:31

d[See ver. 31 above]

e ch. 15:20

f[ch. 11:24]

g 2 Kgs. 2:3, 5, 7, 15

n[See ver. 39 above]

1 Kings 20:30-42

30 And the rest fled into the city of ^aAphek, and the wall fell upon 27,000 men who were left.

Ben-hadad also fled and entered ^ban inner chamber in the city. 31 And his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us ^cput sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life.” 32 So they ^dtied sackcloth around their waists and put ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please, let me live.’” And he said, “Does he still live? He is my brother.” 33 Now the men were watching for a sign, and they quickly took it up from him and said, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” Then he said, “Go and bring him.” Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot. 34 And Ben-hadad said to him, ^e“The cities that my father took from your father I will restore, and you may establish bazaars for yourself in ^fDamascus, as my father did in Samaria.” And Ahab said, “I will let you go on these terms.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

A Prophet Condemns Ben-hadad’s Release

35 And a certain man of ^gthe sons of the prophets said to his fellow ^hat the command of the Lord, “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him. 36 Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have gone from me, a lion shall strike you down.” And as soon as he had departed from him, ⁱa lion met him and struck him down. 37 Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” And the man struck him—struck him and wounded him. 38 So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, ^jdisguising himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 And as the king passed, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, ^kyour life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent ^{▼▼A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms} of silver.’ 40 And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.” 41 Then he hurried to take the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 And he said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, ^{▼▼That is, set apart ( devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)} therefore ⁿyour life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.’”